The human body needs food to live. That is a well known fact. Every newspaper or magazine has promises of foods that lead to a longer life, but which is the best food to eat of all the choices available? Which single food will help the human body to live longer? Is there one food that shows the most promise? And, does one food or food group make a difference to the length of a person’s life? Studies show that there is one single food that is the most important for a long and healthy life.

One of the necessities of life is that the human body must have food. And, one fact is that Mother’s milk contains all the necessary ingredients for life up to six months old and after that age the foods available are endless, some are known to produce discomfort if used over long periods of time while other foods are known to be beneficial by producing healthier results. Medical professionals recommend a variety of diets for a longer life and when one looks at which diet is best it leads to confusion because there are so many possibilities. In order to determine what the most important food is that is required by the human body for a long life, a look at why the human body needs food must be done and, what role food plays in adding years to the life of the human body.

Science hasestablished that without sufficient food, the human body will perish. Research has shown that the human body uses five components or parts of each food it consumes. These components of food are referred to as the five dietary constituents that are required by the human body for growth and repair, for energy and maintenance, and which are needed by the body for disease protection. The most important of these five dietary constituents is water, which can make up as much as 60 percent of the total body weight. Water is often said to be the most important nutritional need of the body because a normal man or woman in good shape can survive on water, without any food, for 20-40 days. Equally important in the chemical composition of the human body is approximately 17 percentprotein, 13 percent fats, 6 percent minerals, and 1.5 percent carbohydrates. These amounts can vary depending on the age, weight, and health of the body. Most foods provide mainly carbohydrates with significant amounts of protein, a small amount of fat or oil, and micronutrients (minerals and vitamins) (Latham1997).

Additionally, water is the most important dietary constituent required by the human body because a normal human body consists of three parts which all contain water. Body Mass makes up approximately fifty five percent of the whole body and supporting tissue makes up about thirty percent of the body with the remaining body fat making up about fifteen percent of a healthy body. Therefore, human body cell mass need the most water to be able to make muscles, organs and blood which regulate body metabolism, body functioning, body maintenance and repairs. Consequently, the body is made up of sixty percent water, part of which is made by the body, part of which comes from the food and fluids consumed (Latham1997).